As the White House said Wednesday it is holding secret talks with Hamas, President Donald Trump took to social media to threaten not just the Palestinian militant and political group but also the entire population of Gaza.

“Release all of the Hostages now … or it is OVER for you,” Trump wrote in a statement posted on his account on Truth Social.

He then broadened his threats.

“Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits,” Trump wrote. “But not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!”

Trump has leveled similar threats toward Hamas in the past, such as his promise before taking office in January that “all hell will break out” in the Middle East if the hostages weren’t released — a message he repeated during the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. But Trump’s language aimed at the broader Palestinian population stands out as a call for civilian slaughter in a place where at least 48,000 people have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas, with thousands more buried under rubble.

“He’s threatening an entire population with death — what else is that other than genocidal?”

“If he’s addressing the people of Gaza in their collective, and then he follows that up with a threat and says, ‘You’re dead if you don’t do X, Y........

© The Intercept